Measuring the Patient/Client Experience with Virtual Care in Primary Care 

This article examines three family health teams (FHTs) in different Ontario communities that exemplify the features of a Patient's Medical Home (PMH), a vision developed by the College of Family Physicians of Canada. With PMH supports and foundations in place, these FHTs deliver high-quality care enabled by strong PMH functions: accessible, comprehensive, patient- and family-centred continuous care that is responsive to a community's unique needs. Adhering to PMH principles not only improves patient experience, health outcomes and provider satisfaction but also leads to fewer unnecessary hospital admissions and emergency room visits – system savings and better use of public resources.

Featured FHTs:

• Marathon FHT's High-Yield Approach to Risk Mitigation and Safety (HARMS): A program for safer opioid prescribing through systematic risk stratification and urine drug testing

• Markham FHT's Eating Disorders Bridge Program

• Peterborough FHT: New services improve primary care access to an underserviced region

Authors

• Leanne Clarke, CEO, Ontario College of Family Physicians
• Kavita Mehta, CEO, Association of Family Health Teams of Ontario.